I have six shop tools (bandsaw, table saw, router table, miter saw, belt sander, drill press). I only ever use one of them at any time (in that there’s only one of me) and have very limited outlet space and no room for expansion in the electrical panel (I’ve had an electrician in and he won’t put more tandem circuits in, and subpanel is 1000$!).

Would it be possible to splice each machine’s power cable to a single wire of appropriate gauge (romex 12 or 10 gauge), such that they could all share a single plug / outlet?

I can’t see any reason why this would be different from a power strip except that overcurrent protection would be coming from the main 20A breaker rather than a 15A power strip.

12 would be plenty for a 20 amp circuit, unless you really intend to make a long cord. I’m guessing you just want an extension that all the tools could plug into? If true, I would do the handy box thing mentioned. Doing it that way would allow you to separate the outlets, so if you needed 2 outlets 10” away from the wall, then another 2 6’ downstream, and the last 2 another 6’ downstream you could do that.

I’d do Mr Ron’s idea for many reasons—more flexibility, not having to modify factory cords, safer, ability to mount plugs where you need them, not have one cord that can’d be relocated. Standard 12/2 romex would be fine for a 20A circuit.

-- In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. Thomas Jefferson

I intentionally use one heavy duty extension cord that hangs from near the middle of my shop, and I have all tools unplugged unless I’m using, and I plug into that one plug. It was a safety practice I picked up early on, and I have stuck with it. It is a pain sometimes, but I stick with it.

-- "Man is the only animal which devours his own, for I can apply no milder term to the general prey of the rich on the poor." ~Thomas Jefferson

Romex wire would NOT be the correct material for this application. It is solid conductor wire which is designed to be installed permanently within the structure such as in walls and the ceiling. The cable would not be flexible and easy to handle. It would also be prone to damage when used in this manner.

The correct wire/cable for this application would be SJOOW which is designed for this use. You can buy it by the foot at many suppliers. 12/3 SWOOJ be adequate for this unless you want to make am much longer cable, in which case you should use 10/3 to minimize the voltage drop.

Not a fan of this idea at all. Sooner or later, you’ll find a way to run more than one machine at a time. Maybe a vacuum and a saw, or maybe you’ll run a bandsaw and then need to turn on a sander so you can take the work back and forth.If you cannot put in at least a fused power strip to protect you and your tools, I would not do it.

I was reading Mr Ron’s response as mounting the handy boxes to the wall where needed and then plug into the existing outlet in order to avoid running power through the wall structure. Re-reading the OP, that is probably not the goal. If you are making a cord to be rolled up and laid across the floor as needed, then definitely use SJ cord.

Sorry for any confusion caused and thank you Herb for pointing it out.

-- In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. Thomas Jefferson

You can have lots of outlets on one circuit breaker. So install outlets for each tool, run them all in parallel to one branch circuit. No issues.

You can pull 15 amps from one duplex outlet, and you can have, oh, 10 duplex outlets on a 20 or 30A breaker.

You can’t pull 15 amps from EACH of those outlets, the circuit breaker will trip.

In your case, you can have each tool in a separate outlet on one branch, and as long as you don’t run more than one at a time, you will be safe and the breaker won’t trip. If you run more than one, even accidentally, the breaker might trip on you. You are still safe.

If you plug in 10 toasters on 5 outlets in a typical outlet string in a house, you will have an analogous situation. It’s fine, it’s safe, and it works.

I certainly wouldn’t be to code, but if you’re the only one in your shop and you know not to turn on more than the circuit can handle, then why not. If you were to burn down your house, your insurance company might be inclined to not pay if they suspected wiring like you described was present.